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With two new procurement programs set to begin and money being parceled out more evenly, the helicopter industry is optimistic about its future with the Army. When the Army scrapped Comanche last February, there was much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth. Everybody lamented the demise of the... Read More »

This should be a busy year for the Bell Helicopter Training Academy. In addition to upgrading some flight training devices and meeting the steady demand for its night-vision goggles training, the academy is relocating from Hurst, Texas to Alliance Airport in Fort Worth and developing new "virtual... Read More »

The U.S. Army has a new aviation modernization plan: It's back to the future. Indeed, the RAH-66 Comanche is gone, but the AH-64 Apache is very much alive. Ditto the CH-47 Chinook and the UH-60 Black Hawk. And we may not have seen the last of the UH-1 Huey. That old bird may yet have new life... Read More »

A primer on helicopter autopilots, with a flight report on SFIM's two-axis VFR system. Most helicopter pilots still can hear a stern instructor's voice searing into their subconscious "DON'T EVER TAKE YOUR HAND OFF THE CYCLIC!" When I first flew a helicopter with an autopilot, I was the same way... Read More »

As the industry gathers for its major trade show, reports from the field are that business is picking up. These days folks seem wary to speak of good news, fearing such talk might jinx brightening prospects or, worse, invite bad news. The effects of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks were... Read More »

The skies over Rialto, California are sweetened by a familiar sound these days. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's (SBSD) Aviation Division's gorgeous Sikorsky H-3 is now the "Big Iron" in the Valley, with just over a hundred hours on the clock since she arrived. With all her whistles and bells... Read More »

Economics are driving operators and manufacturers to come up with better ways of keeping their oldest aircraft flying safely and efficiently. There is often a feeling in the industry that the the aircraft aging problem primarily deals with determining when an aircraft or component has reached the... Read More »

Lord Corporation and Hamilton Sundstrand have teamed to introduce the first dynamic inflight propeller balancing (IFPB) system. "What we have done is take proven industrial balancing technology and apply it to the specialized area of aerospace," said Steve Meyer, Lord's defense business... Read More »

: Sikorsky Plays Politics Sikorsky has laid down the political gauntlet in the VXX presidential helicopter competition with the introduction last month of its "all-American" VH-92 contracting team: Flight Safety International simulation and training; L-3 Communications mission... Read More »

Over the past 100 years of flight and, no doubt, for hundreds of years to come an airplane pilot's uppermost concern has been, and will continue to be, the need to maintain situational awareness. Where am I, relative to where I should be? How is the vehicle performing? What unknown or unseen... Read More »

Brits Tough On Security In November the UK s aviation authorities began monitoring UK and non-UK airlines compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirement to provide a means of checking the area behind the cockpit door from within the cockpit. ICAO s related... Read More »

Whether they are simple laptops or fully installed and certified devices, computers for pilot reference and calculations appear destined to enter aircraft cockpits. What follows are recent developments that support the inevitability of electronic flight bags. In the July 2002 issue of Avionics... Read More »

With a tradition of racking up time on their aircraft and a new reality of tight budgets, Houston s police aviators must find more efficient maintenance solutions. A helicopter has been described as 10,000 parts moving in close formation, not flying as we know it but beating the air into... Read More »

GPS: Vulnerability Update Last September the U.S. Transportation Department (DoT) released a study on the vulnerabilities of GPS and of the transportation system dependent upon it. Because the report was issued the day before Sept. 11, it aroused intense interest in the aftermath of that tragedy... Read More »

Terrain awareness warning in every aircraft Sounds nice. It certainly would enhance safety which is why Honeywell has developed multiple versions of its enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). Perhaps the latest version, the Mark XXII for helicopters, was the most challenging to... Read More »